ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA BUILDING CONSULTANT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

The Ghosts of Tariffs Past May Help Us in the Future

January 07, 2025 — Kellie Ros - ConsensusDocs
The havoc material tariffs have caused the construction industry is nothing new. President-Elect Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum in his first administration in 2016. While the tariffs themselves were not wholly unexpected, the ripple effect of those tariffs (coupled with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic) caused unexpected challenges for the construction industry. Those included allocating the risk of the additional costs caused by tariffs, supply and demand issues, grappling with escalation clauses, and navigating fixed price projects. The industry must now utilize the lessons learned from the rear-view mirror to strategically prepare for what was promised to be a second round of tariffs come January 2025. Tariffs’ Impacts on Material Prices Everywhere New or increased tariffs have the potential to raise prices for a wide range of construction inputs. Based on simple supply and demand principles, this includes inputs produced domestically that compete with foreign imports. For example, if a 20% tariff is imposed on Chinese steel, contractors may look to procure Brazil or U.S. steel in an effort to cut their costs. Such a rush to those less-costly alternatives may result in a supply shortage or an increase in prices in the marketplace across the globe. This occurred in 2016 when material prices indirectly related to the inputs on which the tariffs were imposed even increased. Contractors may be well served to get ahead of anticipated price increases and purchase materials now or take other actions in negotiating contracts to protect themselves. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kellie Ros, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Ms. Ros may be contacted at kros@pecklaw.com

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ASCE Statement on House Passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024

August 05, 2024 — Marsia Geldert-Murphey, P.E., President of the American Society of Civil Engineers
WASHINGTON — The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) commends the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 8812, the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for 2024. The House WRDA 2024 bill will help improve America's ports and inland waterways, enhance flood risk management and storm risk reduction programs, and prioritize ecosystem restoration. While we urge the Senate to swiftly vote on its version of WRDA, we are encouraged that our nation's critical water resources infrastructure remains a congressional priority. The House version of WRDA includes several key provisions to enhance the safety of America's dams and levees, which each received a 'D' on the 2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, as well as provisions to modernize the nation's inland waterways system, which received a 'D+' in the 2021 Report Card. This includes one of ASCE's top legislative priorities for this year, the reauthorization of the National Dam Safety Program through 2028. But beyond the reauthorization, this bill reduces restrictions on the amount of funds states can receive in National Dam Safety Program State Assistance Grants; improves access to the High Hazard Potential Dam Rehabilitation Grant Program; and requires the incorporation of low-head dams into the National Inventory of Dams. Each of these provisions are critical to ensuring the long-term safety of our nation's dams and ASCE applauds the House for their inclusion. Furthermore, ASCE was pleased to see that the House legislation extends the National Levee Safety Program through 2033, which will help support the establishment of state levee safety programs, develop and publish national guidelines for levee safety, and enhance flood protection nationwide. While these measures are not included in the Senate version of WRDA, we encourage lawmakers to ensure they are included in a final conference version of the bill. We thank the House of Representatives for moving forward WRDA 2024 and strongly encourage the Senate to pass its version so that Congress can keep this vital water resources legislation on a biennial schedule and ensure our nation's dams, levees, ports, and inland waterways can support the American economy and protect public safety. ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 160,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.

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Word of the Day: “Contractor”

September 16, 2024 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
What’s in a word? When it comes to insurance policies, a word, can potentially mean millions of dollars. In California Specialty Insulation, Inc. v. Allied World Surplus Lines Insurance Company, 102 Cal.App.5th 1 (2024), an insured and its insurer battled it out over the word “contractor,” and whether an exclusion from coverage of bodily injury to any employee or temporary worker “of any contractor or subcontractor,” excluded a personal injury claim brought by an employee of a general contractor against a subcontractor. The California Specialty Contractor Case In 2017, Air Control Systems, Inc. (“Air Control”) was contracted to perform improvements at a building in Los Angeles, California. Air Control in turn subcontracted with California Specialty Insulation, Inc. (“CSI”) to install duct insulation on the project. During construction, an employee of Air Control was injured when he fell 16 to 20 feet from a ladder that was struck by a scissor lift driven by an employee of CSI. Approximately two years later the Air Control employee filed a personal injury lawsuit against CSI. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Nomos LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@nomosllp.com

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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (6/26/24) – Construction Growth in Office and Data Center Sectors, Slight Ease in Consumer Price Index and Increased Premiums for Commercial Buildings

July 22, 2024 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, U.S. interest rates remain uncertain, construction firms continue to use artificial intelligence, New York City updates commercial zoning regulations, and more!

• According to analysts, high vacancy rates and declining rents have hurt San Francisco’s office market so badly that it could take almost 20 years to recover. (Eric McConnell, Yahoo)
• The New York City Council approved updated commercial zoning regulations that expand where businesses can be located in the city, more than double the space for small-scale clean manufacturing, and enable adaptive reuse projects involving existing buildings. (Joe Burns, Construction Dive)
• The insurance industry is responding to the proliferation of extreme weather events and the risks associated with operating commercial buildings in vulnerable areas by increasing premiums. (Renea Burns, Tim Coy, Niall Williams, Deloitte)

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

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“Since You Asked. . .”

October 15, 2024 — Daniel Lund III - Lexology
… you must now pay. So said a California appellate court, affirming the trial court’s decision against a subcontractor suing for unpaid subcontract sums. Instead of being awarded those unpaid amounts, the subcontractor lost the case and was tagged with a $1.55 million attorney’s fees award and $270,000 costs award in favor of the defendants. What went wrong? California law requires a licensed contractor to maintain at all times proper workers’ compensation insurance coverage. The failure to maintain the coverage and have the certificate of coverage on file with the California Contractors State License Board results in “automatic and immediate suspension” of the contractor license. Retroactive reinstatement of the license may occur only if the contractor provides proof of the insurance within 90 days of the effective date of the insurance certificate – unless the contractor can show that failure to have the certificate on file was “due to circumstances beyond the control of the licensee.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Daniel Lund III, Phelps
Mr. Lund may be contacted at daniel.lund@phelps.com

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Hurricane Milton Barrels Toward Florida With 180 MPH Winds

October 07, 2024 — Brian K Sullivan & David R Baker - Bloomberg
Milton exploded into the Atlantic’s strongest hurricane this year, bearing down as a catastrophic Category 5 storm on a Florida region still struggling to recover from Helene’s devastation. Milton’s top winds reached 180 miles (290 kilometers) per hour, up from 90 mph just 16 hours earlier, the US National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 5 p.m. New York time. Milton now bests Hurricane Beryl, which raked Texas, Mexico and the Caribbean in July, as the most powerful Atlantic storm this season. With winds this intense, Milton is capable of collapsing homes, flattening trees and triggering power outages that could last weeks to months. It’s difficult for hurricanes to maintain their maximum strength for long, however, so Milton’s winds may drop as it nears Florida’s west coast. Only four Category 5 hurricanes have hit the US mainland, including Michael, which struck Florida’s Panhandle in 2018. Reprinted courtesy of Brian K Sullivan, Bloomberg and Check The Boxes Regarding Contractual Conditions Precedent to Payment

Florida “Property Damage” caused by an “Occurrence” and “Your Work” Exclusion

Best Lawyers® Recognizes 37 White And Williams Lawyers

Texas Legislative Update

COVID-19 Impacts on Subcontractor Default Insurance and Ripple Effects

Use of Dispute Review Boards in the Construction Process

Green Construction Trends Contractors Can Expect in 2019

Palo Alto Proposes Time Limits on Building Permits

Caution to GCs! An Exception to Privette Can Leave You Open to Liability

Canada Housing Starts Increase on Multiple-Unit Projects

Force Majeure Under the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Balfour in Talks With Carillion About $5 Billion Merger

PSA: Pay If Paid Ban Goes into Effect on January 1, 2023

CDJ’s #10 Topic of the Year: Transport Insurance Company v. Superior Court (2014) 222 Cal.App.4th 1216.

Musk’s Cousins Battle Utilities to Make Solar Rooftops Cheap

Colorado Senate Bill 13-052: The “Transit-Oriented Development Claims Act of 2013.”

$1.9 Trillion Stimulus: Five Things Employers Need to Know

Know your Obligations: Colorado’s Statutory Expansions of the Implied Warranty of Habitability Are Now in Effect

Related’s $1 Billion Los Angeles Project Opens After 15-Year Wait

Revisiting Statutory Offers to Compromise

In Kansas City, a First-Ever Stadium Designed for Women’s Sports Takes the Field

Se
Insurance for Large Construction Equipment Such as a Crane

Blurred Lines: New York Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Privileged Documents in Connection with Pre-Denial Communications Prepared by Insurer's Coverage Counsel

Senior Living Facility Makes Construction Defect Claims

DRCOG’s Findings on the Impact of Construction Defect Litigation Have Been Released (And the Results Should Not Surprise You)

Colorado Supreme Court Grants the Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Vallagio v. Metropolitan Homes

Reservation of Rights Letter Merely Citing Policy Provisions Inadequate

Daniel Ferhat Receives Two Awards for Service to the Legal Community

Final Rule Regarding Project Labor Agreement Requirements for Large-Scale Federal Construction Projects

Global Insurer Agrees to Pay COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

Defenses Raised Three-Years Too Late Estop Insurer’s Coverage Denial

Pensacola Bridge Halted Due to Alleged Construction Defects

Construction Job Opening Rise in October

Apprentices on Public Works Projects: Sometimes it’s Not What You Do But Who You Do the Work For That Counts

If a Defect Occurs During Construction, Is It an "Occurrence?"

Quick Note: Steps to Protect and Avoid the “Misappropriation” of a “Trade Secret”

Medical Center Builder Sues Contracting Agent, Citing Costly Delays

Note on First-Party and Third-Party Spoliation of Evidence Claims

Sales of New U.S. Homes Rose More Than Forecast to End 2014

House Passes $25B Water Resources Development Bill

Trump Order Waives Project Environment Rules to Push COVID-19 Recovery

NLRB Finalizes Rule for Construction Industry Unions to Obtain Majority Support Representational Status

Part II: Key Provisions of School Facility Construction & Design Contracts

California Case Adds Difficulties for Contractors & Material Suppliers

The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Mega-Structure Domed Roof Completed

PFAS and the Challenge of Cleaning Up “Forever”

San Diego: Compromise Reached in Fee Increases for Affordable Housing

San Francisco Museum Nears $610 Million Fundraising Goal

Administration Launches 'Buy Clean' Construction Materials Push

Forget Backyard Pools, Build a Swimming Pond Instead

Sales of New U.S. Homes Slump to Lowest Level Since November

Kadeejah Kelly Named to The National Black Lawyers’ “Top 40 Under 40” List

“Details Matter” is the Foundation in a Texas Construction Defect Suit

Title II under ADA Applicable to Public Rights-of-Way, Parks and Other Recreation Areas

Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (6/18/24) – Cannabis’ Effect on Real Estate, AI’s Capabilities for Fund Managers and CRE’s Exposure on Large Banks

Appellate Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over Order Compelling Appraisal

Lost Productivity or Inefficiency Claim Can Be Challenging to Prove

Dispute Review Boards for Real-Time Dispute Avoidance and Resolution

2011 Worst Year Ever for Home Sales

Construction Warranties: Have You Seen Me Lately?

2016 Hawaii Legislature Enacts Five Insurance-Related Bills

Party Loses Additional Insured Argument by Improper Pleading

Tennessee Looks to Define Improvements to Real Property

Colorado Construction Defect Action Reform: HB 17-1279 Approved by Colorado Legislature; Governor’s Approval Imminent

Court of Appeals Finds Arbitration Provision Incorporated by Reference Unenforceable

Social Engineering Scams Are On the Rise – Do I Have Insurance Coverage for That?

MGM Seeks to Demolish Harmon Towers

Distinguishing Hawaii Law, New Jersey Finds Anti-Assignment Clause Ineffective

Construction Worker Dies after Building Collapse

Be Careful in Contracting and Business

New Mexico Architect Is Tuned Into His State

Construction Defect Specialist Joins Kansas City Firm

World Green Building Council Calls for Net-Zero Embodied Carbon in Buildings by 2050